SAS soldier accused of raping girls as young as SIX over a 13-year period

Crest: Ian Tuckley, 32, from Walsall, West Midlands served with the Royal Welsh Regiment and the SAS

An SAS soldier who served in Iraq and Afghanistan is go on trial accused of 12 rapes against young girls - aged as young as six.

Corporal Ian Tuckley allegedly carried out 31 assaults between July 1997 and July 2010.

The 31-year-old soldier, who served with the 22-regiment of the elite fighting force and is believed to be a dog handler, has been remanded in custody ahead of his trial later this year.

Tuckley can be named after a judge overturned a gagging order which had protected his identity.

There had been fears that if all the evidence went before an open court it would represent a risk to 'national security'.

But lawyers argued that there was no risk with naming Tuckley, from Walsall, West Midlands, and the order had only been issued to protect reputations.

The serviceman had also served in Britain and had been involved in preparations to halt a terror attack like the one carried out in Mumbai.

Tuckley, who was based at the SAS headquarters in Hereford, spent five years in Afghanistan.

Martin Finney, 40, is due to stand trial alongside his brother-in-law Tuckley - accused of 24 offences including rape of a female under 17, sexual assault and assault.

Finney, also from Walsall, is accused of drugging one of his victims with nitrous oxide - or laughing gas - which has a euphoric effect. It works within seconds and makes users feel light-headed, relaxed and drowsy.